A stark contrast to the romance of polished brass and meticulous varnish is this hard working Umiak built by my friend Don in 2001. Beginning in Olympia, Washington, Don and his wife Edith rowed this boat 1000 miles self supported to Juneau, Alaska. The trip took 143 days. Almost 20 years later the boat is still seaworthy and still being used.
Umiaks were the traditional open boats of the Alaskan Inuit, the heavy workhorses that ferried people and supplies to summer hunting grounds where kayaks were then dispatched to harvest sea mammals. This synergy of kayak and umiak not only extended the range of a group, but also assisted the successful migrations across northern Canada where previous non-boating cultures had failed.
Somewhat cumbersome when compared to various modern pleasure craft, what it lacks in sleekness it makes up for in ruggedness and seaworthiness. Umiaks up to 60ft were used in the brutal conditions of the arctic and that people survived these journeys is testimony enough to the suitability to the task.
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